How to interpret the Bible

Wayne Grudem gives some excellent principles on how to read and study the Bible.

General Principles for Right Interpretation

1. Spend your earliest and best time reading the text of the Bible itself.
2. The interpretation of Scripture is not a magical or mysterious process, because Scripture was written in the ordinary language of the day.
3. Every interpreter has only four sources of information about the text [(1) The meanings of individual words and sentences; (2) The place of the statement in its context; (3) The overall teaching of Scripture; (4) Some information about the historical and cultural background.
4. Look for reasons rather than mere opinions to give support to an interpretation, and use reasons rather than mere opinions to attempt to persuade others.
5. There is only one meaning for each text (though there are many applications.
6. Notice the kind of literature in which the verse is found.
7. Notice whether the text approves or disapproves or merely reports a person’s actions.
8. Be careful not to generalize specific statements and apply them to fundamentally different situations.
9. It is possible to do a short or long study of any passage. Do what you can with the time you have, and don’t be discouraged about all that you cannot do.
10. Pray regularly for the Holy Spirit’s help in the whole process of interpreting the Bible.

Keeping the “Big Picture” in Mind: Some Observations about the Whole of Scripture

Big Picture 1

The Bible is a historical document. Therefore, always ask, “What did the author want the original readers to understand by this statement?”

Big Picture 2

The original authors wanted the original readers to respond in some ways. Therefore, always ask, “What application did the original author want the readers to make to their lives?”

Big Picture 3

The whole Bible is about God! Therefore, we should always ask, “What does this text tell us about God?”

Big Picture 4

The center of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament leads up to him and points to him, and the entire New Testament flows from him. Therefore, we should always ask, “What does this text tell us about the greatness of Christ?”

Big Picture 5

All history can be divided into several major “ages” or “epochs” in salvation history. Therefore, we should read every passage of the Bible with a salvation history timeline in our minds and constantly remember where every passage fits on the timeline.

Big Picture 6

Themes: Because the Bible is a unity (it has one divine Author though many human authors), there are many themes that develop and grow from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, for each significant element in any text, it is helpful to ask, (a) Where did this theme start in the Bible? (b) How did this theme develop through the Bible? and (c) Where is this theme going to end in the Bible?

An update on the "family" tree

Nancy called Lowe's to ask them about why they have changed from the Christmas tree to the family tree. She was told by someone at customer service that "this was a mistake and it has been corrected." In clarification Nancy then asked so these are going to be called Christmas trees and not family trees and the customer person said yes. I commend Lowe's on correcting this mistake.

Lowe's has also issued an apology for messing with this Christmas classic (a joke)

The Christmas Tree

It seems that every year Nancy and I are a little late on putting up the Christmas tree. But this year we are on the ball and have it up and will be ready to decorate with other family members (hint, hint:Butner and Anna) the day after Thanksgiving.

Check out the following article that was sent out today by the American Family Association.

Lowe's refuses to call them "Christmas trees," chooses to call them "Family trees"

In an effort to avoid the use of the term "Christmas tree," Lowe's has renamed their Christmas trees and are now calling them "Family trees."

In their Holiday 2007 catalog, containing 56 pages of Christmas gifts, Lowe's advertises hundreds of gift items, including scores of "Family trees." In fact, the word "Christmas" only appears two times in the entire holiday catalog. The ads mentioning "Christmas cover only 12 square inches of the 5236 square inches available.

Lowe's even has one of their Family trees turned upside down on a stand. We are not sure what the significance of that is.

Lowe's evidently did not want to offend any non-Christians, therefore they replaced "Christmas tree" with "Family tree." Of course, if Christians are offended that is evidently ok.

An on-line search of Lowe's does reference some "Christmas" items. In fact, a word search of their Web site gives the exact same number 174 of the word "Christmas" as it does the word "holiday." Most of the items mentioning Christmas appear to use the promotional line given by the manufacturer.

Their Holiday 2007 catalog features scores of products, including lights, wreaths, trees, and yard decorations. Most people would associate these items with Christmas, but not Lowe's! Except for two obscure references, they refer to everything in their catalog as "holiday."

Click here to see the front cover of the catalog and a page featuring their "Family trees." catalog ad.

Breaking news story - Senator Robert Bryd weighs in on the Lowe's controversy (you know of course this is a joke)

Hillary Clinton - A definite maybe

A candidate for president that says what she means and means what she says - or does she?

A Bible test

If the apostle Paul came back and knocked on your door tonight and handed you this test how would you do?

Define and explain these terms - by the way here are the conditions, the definitions need to be supported by Scripture and the explanation must be to an 8-10 year old boy or girl. Here is the point if you can't explain it then you really don't understand it.
1. Faith
2. Grace
3. Justification
4. Redemption
5. Propitiation
6. Righteousness
7. law

Each of these words are tied to a person's eternal future either in heaven or in hell. Where might be the best place in the Bible to find all these words together in context? (Hint: it is considered to be the more important epistle that Paul wrote).

Did you pass the test?

Do these things really matter?

Have you ever heard someone say "doctrine divides" therefore we don't study these kind of things in our church. Well the term doctrine was very important to the apostle Paul as we read in Titus 1:9 - holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. And again he gives a warning about doctrine in 2Tim. 4:3 - For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.

It seems that Christians today are not very tolerant about wrestling through and being able to discuss areas in which they differ in doctrine. Instead we leave and go gather with a group of people who look like us, talk like us, think like us and act like us. We become involved in our holy huddles which precludes us from getting outside our frame of reference even at the sacrifice of understanding the Bible.

Dr. Bruce Ware is one of the leading theologians of our time. I am posting the links for a conference he did in 2007. In this Resurgence Conference he takes an in depth look at the three basic camps within the evangelical church. You can either go to the video or audio links for these lectures but I highly recommend you take time to listen.

Teaching session #1 - Uncertain hands of God and men: Providence in process thought and open theology

Teaching session #2 - Independent hands of God and men:Providence in classic Arminianism

Teaching session #3 - Coordinated hands of God and men:Providence in the Reformed Tradition

All you need to do is click on this LINK and then scroll down to the teaching session and decide if you want the video or the audio session.

As I continue to teach about the sovereignty of God in all things the question that keeps coming up is how about the human will or the will of man. Dr. Ware takes a look at the human will and does an excellent job in explaining this position from all three camps.

Should you listen to these teaching sessions then my question to you will be this "Does this really matter?"

A "three" braided cord in not easily broken

Three strong sisters (Becky, Mariyln and Donna) in Christ!

I don't understand it they look so much younger than their husbands.

Familiar with the gospel

Has the gospel become so familiar that it has lost its impact in your life?

John Bunyan describes his justification

One day as I was passing into the field . . . this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [=lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, "The same yesterday, today, and forever." Heb. 13:8. Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God [about the unforgivable sin] left off to trouble me; now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God."

Sunday nights I am leading a small group through a study called "Being the Christian that you say you have become." This Sunday we are going to study Romans 4 in depth. I believe that this testimony of John Bunyan will help us to understand the true nature of our justification.

A key phrase that we must understand and study is listed 4 times in Romans 4 which says "Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness." My key question for our Sunday night group will be - what does faith credited as righteousness mean?

Are you humble?

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle recently dealt with this subject is a sermon series on Philippians 2. Read what Mark says about his own battle with pride in his ministry.

I therefore do not claim to be humble. I do not claim to have been humble. I am convicted of my pride, and I am a man who is by God’s grace pursuing humility.

So in many ways this is a sermon that I’m preaching at myself, this is a sermon you are welcomed to listen in on as I preach to myself.

But I truly believe that were there one thing I could do over in the history of Mars Hill it would be in my attitude and in my actions and in my words to not only emphasize sound doctrine, encourage in strength and commitment and conviction but, to add in addition to that, humility as a virtue.

And so I’ll start by asking your forgiveness and sincerely acknowledging that this has been a great failure.

And I believe that it is showing up in our church in the lives of men and women who have sound doctrine but not sound attitude. They may contend for good things but their motives are bad and their methods are bad and their tone is bad and their tactics are bad and their actions are bad because their attitudes are bad even though their objective is sometimes good. I see this in particular with the men. I see this with men young and old, men who have known Jesus for a long time and should know better, and men who are new to Jesus and are learning sometimes the hard way.

I recommend that you grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and sit down with a notebook and go to this LINK and listen to this message by Mark Driscoll.